The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of parcel delivery storage and more specifically relates to a package receptacle system.
2. Description of Related Art
Online shopping has become a popular way for individuals to purchase goods. Because of the prevalence, ease, and sometimes discount pricing of online shopping, more and more people are ordering products from far away locations which are shipped as packages or parcels. Package/parcel deliveries may generally come at any hour and during any type of weather conditions.
Often times, the person intended to receive the package may not be present during the time the package is delivered. A package which is delivered in the morning may be left unattended and vulnerable to theft and damage due to inclement weather. Moreover, some packages may not be delivered to an unattended location and a delivery must be attempted again and again, which increases the cost of deliveries in general for all consumers. This is not desirable.
Package lockers or securable/lockable mailboxes may be available for the delivery person to place the package into at select locations. However, such lockers may not be available in all locations, require the delivery person to carry a separate key for each locker, and still leaves the package vulnerable to damage in extreme heat, cold, and/or humidity. Therefore a suitable solution is desired.
Several attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pat. and Pub. Nos. 2014/0014008 to Tompkins; 2014/0008246 to Pfeiffer; 2002/0162883 to Arvonio et al.; 2004/0122780 to Devar; U.S. Pat. No. 7,885,821 to Tait; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,738 to Jonas. This art is representative of parcel delivery. However, none of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Preferably, a package receptacle system should provide a secure location for a delivery person to deliver a package or parcel without the use of a separate key while protecting the package from inclement weather and theft and, yet would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a reliable package receptacle system to avoid the above-mentioned problems.